Competition between cities and regions in Europe. Can smart spatial planning interact with gravitational site location models for external investment?

However smart a city or a region might be, a wide range of companies (eg in retail and services) use a gravitational model for site location for new investments. If the primary choice model is a gravitational one, being smart will only matter for site location within a region. From a spatial planning point of view, the right question is ‘can we influence gravitational site location choice while applying intelligent and consistent long term planning?’. First we implement a multi-scalar gravitational analysis of the EU-28 area, allowing to define a gravitational central area. We use the population density dataset (inhabitants per hectare calculated from Corine Land Cover 2006) provided by the European Environmental Agency and Joint Research Center. Spatial statistics allow us to define areas that have significantly more inhabitants and are thus ‘gravitational centers’. By applying different influence ranges, we get four different perceptions of centrality. With an influence distance of 100km we see the european core area, while on the opposite end a 10km distance gives us a wide range of central places for services of proximity. This provides every city or region with insight in the way the gravitational choice model influences investment in regions. For spatial planning, it is almost impossible to influence this with traditional planning instruments. Competition between regions and states on the European level is mostly defined by national (tax) policy and cultural differences. In a second part, we take a closer look at the regional level. For an equal area around (1) Brussels, (2) Milano-Venezia, and (3) Wien-Bratislava we apply the same spatial statistics calculations with different influence zones. The analysis on a regional level shows clear differences in regional development and in the position of cities within the region. For the Flemish region we confront the pattern of central areas with the statistical analysis of the actual location of firms

Some Futures for the Belgian Coast 2100, a Case Study of Research by Design on Regional Level

In this paper, we want to explain our findings from recent research by design on regional level that is initiated by the Flemish Spatial Development Department Ruimte Vlaanderen. We elaborate further on our conclusions on the article “Can research by design on regional level help to introduce new concepts in spatial planning?” (Zaman Geldof Geens, 2014) and add more results on recent research by design on regional level on the Belgian Coastal area for 2100 (Metropolitaan Kustlandschap 2100). Furthermore we elaborate new findings based on the comments we received by the audience of the ISOCARP 2014 congress in Gdynia and the Quality-forum Regional Research by Design (RRD) we organized in Brussels. Main issue is the question if paradigm breaking research by design (Janssens 2013) is possible in a policy context. Another issue is the idea that research by design has to evolve during the process on 4 scale-lines as described in previous article. The issue to involve more stakeholders during the design process to obtain a more ‘realistic’ level is discussed. The importance to go back to an bigger scale and scope level after having focused more to get to a more comprehensive result seems to be very important. This means that some kind of evolution path is to be explored to become more performant research by design on regional level

Can an Economic Activities Inventory Fill the Knowledge Gap about the Economic Sector in a Policy Making Process?

Nowadays, Brussels’ population is growing and requires more and more space for housing. This constantly growing process tend to push the industrial and medium / large economic activities out of the city. These activities are wrongly perceived to be unsightly for an urban environment. Economic activities, often mixed with other functions play an important role within cities and their suburbs areas. However this role is not well understood. For that reason an analysis that identifies the different types of activities and their location can be fundamental in the early phase of a urban development project, to give at all the stakeholders a better and more complete view. This work is based on the will to get a better and new kind of knowledge about the location and differentiation of economic activities in Brussels metropolitan northern area. The visualization of the diversity of types and scales of economic activities, and understanding trends and dynamics, can be considered as a useful set of information to be used in a urban development and economic policy making process. The work, conceived as a pilot project, which could be extended and repeated in other areas, is based on an empirical research, done by a visual check of what is identifiable as economic or designed for an economic use directly on the site, aimed to identify, locate and classify all the different types of existing economic activities in the selected areas. This economic activities inventory is the only one existing for Brussels Capital and Flanders Regions based on field work. In this paper we will explain the method used for the field work and inventarisation, the possible link with existing economic databases and the difficulties encountered during the work. We will also show how this new data is used in ongoing spatial planning processes and to what extend these new insights promote different spatial planning proposals and realisation

How to Attract the Right Economic Activities in a Certain Spatial Environment?

During the past few years, our research has examined and described the spatial patterns and organisation of economic activities. In order to link these findings to policy, we introduced the concepts of demand and supply segments, and applied them on the scale of an area or a certain spatial environment. Considering the business needs of companies on a certain location, we identified 16 demand parameters of companies, that are spatially relevant on the scale of an area: the size of good flows, the alternative freight transport, the nearness to the market,... Literature, interviews and observations offer supporting evidence for the parameters. We linked them to 24 other parameters that reflect the characteristics of the area where a company is located. These include amongst others mobility, level of foot fall, the presence of green infrastructure, other companies (or mix of companies), density, parking possibilities,... The combination of this information with our typology of economic area’s (Giaretta, Pennincx, De Mulder, Zaman, 2019) resulted into 24 main segments, that show the relation between demand of companies and supply of spatial characteristics on the scale of an area. The segments are ideally grouped according to the characteristics, and in this sense they differ from typology of economic areas, that is based on the observed location preferences of companies. This way of grouping into segments generates new questions, that enable us to spatially differentiate economic environments, and to make decisions regarding the location of economic activities. We aim at getting concrete answers to three main questions: (1) Is my company located in the right place? Does this area spatially deliver what my company needs? (2) Does the area deliver the right services, that the companies in this area need? (3) If we want to transform an area, which area characteristics do we need to change in order to attract the wanted companies? We subdivide these three main questions into sub questions. The first question considers the demand side and uses the micro-economic considerations, made by a company, in order to choice a certain segment. Several questions succeed each other and deal with the demand of companies regarding the effects of agglomeration, economic and environmental spatial use, freight transport, price per square meter,... The second question can lead to the segment that is the closest to the actual situation, based on the typology of economic areas. Indeed, there is usually a gap between the actual situation and the best fitting segment. Using the typology and the segments on an actual situation uncovers information about visibility, land price value, good flows, land use plan. The third and last question deals with areas that are in a process of transformation. After finding out the desirable segment, it is possible to evaluate which companies belong to this segment, which need to adapt or to disappear. In addition, the transition in terms of services that the area delivers (which is implied when transforming from one segment to another), can be determined

Variable Arrangements Between Residential and Productive Activities: Conceiving Mixed-Use for Urban Development in Brussels

Mixing productive economic activities with housing is a hot topic in academic and policy discourses on the redevelopment of large cities today. Mixed-use is proposed to reduce adverse effects of modernist planning such as single-use zoning, traffic congestion, and loss of quality in public space. Moreover, productive city discourses plead for the re-integration of industry and manufacturing in the urban tissue. Often, historical examples of successful mixed-use in urban areas serve as a guiding image, with vertical symbiosis appearing as the holy grail of the live-work mix-discourse. This article examines three recent live-work mix projects developed by a public real estate agency in Brussels. We investigate how different spatial layouts shape the links between productive, residential, and other land uses and how potential conflicts between residents and economic actors are mediated. We develop a theoretical framework based on earlier conceptualisations of mixed-use development to analyse the spatial and functional relationships within the projects. We situate them within the housing and productive city policies in Brussels. From this analysis, we conclude that mixed-use should be understood by considering spatial and functional relationships at various scales and by studying the actual spatial layout of shared spaces, logistics and nuisance mitigation. Mixed-use is highly contextual, depending on the characteristics of the area as well as policy goals. The vertical symbiosis between different land uses is but one example of valid mixed-use strategies along with good neighbourship, overlap, and tolerance. As such, future commercial and industrial areas will occur in various degrees of mixity in our cities

Enhanced Economic Typology for Spatial Economic Policy

This paper tries to actively contribute to the discussion concerning spatial planning and related policies being frequently criticised for their poor ability to accommodate economic dynamics, resulting in tension between spatial and economic development and inefficient planning decisions or instruments. Considering the importance of the economy and its fundamental role in our society, in addition to the lack of knowledge about what the word economy really means and how it is organised in a territory, we strongly believe that it should also be deeply studied and understood by planners and policy makers. In our previous papers we defined some instruments to use to fill this existing gap in knowledge. The first was economic activities mapping, consisting of an attempt of auditing and classifying economic activities in a given area (Giaretta & Zaman, 2017). Although this led to some interesting results, its use as a tool for the definition of the spatial distribution of economic activities or for the comparison of different economic areas,proved to be complicated. Therefore, in a later stage, two new versions of the typology of areas with economic activities were elaborated, in which we tried to divide a real territory into different types of existing economic fabrics. The first version, was based on more subjective criteria, using generally known planning concepts, such as city centres, core shopping centres, access roads, industrial areas and so on, to delimit several economic areas (Gruijthuijsen et al., 2018). The second version was based on more objective criteria, such as the combinations of the mapping data and the proximity between economic activities(Giaretta, Pennincx, De Mulder, Zaman, 2018). The second version turned out to be more interesting, as it really showed economic structures and patterns from an economic perspective, to which other layers, such as housing, could be added. Indeed, the existing economic fabric is not only about shopping streets and industrial areas.It follows residential patterns, creating areas in which economy, intended not only as services or facilities but also as industry and production, is mixed with housing. This creates a set of area types that are rarely defined or even considered by planners and politicians. Therefore, this second version was further elaborated, and we will explain the results in this paper (section 3 to 5). Finally, this last version gave us the possibility to translate it into possible market segments (section 6 and conclusion). First, this article will explain the concept of market segmentation, and make the link with types and policy questions. Secondly,we will presentan enhanced version of the economic typology based on what has beenpresented in our previous papers. The typology consistsof a set of defined economic areas. This term refers to areas with a specific economic fabric proximity, the predominant presence of an economic use (or a combination of uses) and similar environmental characteristics, such as for example accessibility and visibility. This can be used to define how economy is structured, spread and organised in an area, while subdividing the built up space that accommodates economic activities intoeconomic structures or clusters. We use the types to describe and compare different areas throughout Flanders and Brussels. The work isbased on data about economic activities collected in the field and not coming from existing databases. These databases are mostly conceived for uses that are not related to planning or policy preparations (Gruijthuijsen et al., 2018)and for that reason their use can give a misleading view on the economy. In this paper we present a revised and a tested method that is used to define the economic area types and their classification.At last, we will present our first attempt to translate the types into market segments. This illustrates the possible role the types can have in a policy making process, and it gives an idea on how it could be implemented in the future. We focus on both the potential for spatial transformation and future economic development and intensitification within each of these types

Defining Economic Typologies based on an Economic Activities Database

Economy and especially economic activities play a fundamental role in cities and in surrounding areas: it keeps the city functioning, in terms of jobs, goods and services. Considering this fundamental role of economy and economic activities and the vast amount of space it uses, it should be deeply studied and understood in order to guarantee a solid future to the sector itself and the cities. This paper respesents an attempt to research more in depth this matter: it tries to show how economy is organised and structured in a city and surrounding areas and how it can be analysed and considered by policy makers. The aim is to define economic types that represent the frame on which different types of spatial policies, ideally one for each economic location type, should be developed and implemented by policies makers. The project is based on a visual economic activities database. This contains information on all the visible economic units where people work or that are meant to be worked in. The study areas are the northern part of Brussels and two other areas located in Flanders (Belgium). Thanks to this visual inventory, we first tried to define a GIS methodology that defines and subdivides the economic fabric into different areas, according to the concentration of economic activities. This work is based on the hypothesis that the morphology of parcels with economic units on them is an indicator of location choice of companies. Secondly, we combined the database of economic activities with the data on economic fabric concentration in order to define and analyse different economic location types which represent potential economic locations for companies. In this paper we will explain the method used for the data elaboration and the difficulties encountered during the work. We will also discuss how this new economic location types could be used as an instrument in a planning or policy process to define the future perspective for a specific area

Urease Inhibitor Application Stages and Nitrogen Levels Influenced on Morpo-Phenological Traits of Wheat Cultivars

A field trial was carried out at New Developmental Farm of The University Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during winter 2012-13, in order to study the urease inhibitor application stages and nitrogen levels influenced on morpo-phenological traits of wheat cultivars. Therefore the field experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement having four replications.  Nitrogen levels (60, 120 and 150 kg ha-1) and urease inhibitor  stages (100% sowing stage, 50% sowing stage + 50% booting stage and 100% booting stage) were allotted to main plots, while  wheat cultivars (Siran and Atta Habib)  were allotted to sub plots.  Plots treated with 120 kg N ha-1 took maximum days to booting (128), improved plant height (97.9 cm), leaf area tiller-1 (117.8 cm2), spike length (11.3 cm) and biological yield (10382 kg ha-1) but maximum (185) days to maturity  was observed when plots treated with 150 kg N ha-1 as compared with control plots. Application of urease inhibitor 100% at sowing stage took maximum booting (133) days, maturity (186) days, improved plant height (102 cm), leaf area tiller-1 (128 cm2), spike length (11.6 cm) and biological yield (11386 kg ha-1) as compared with urease application 100% at booting stage. Wheat cultivar Siran had significantly took maximum booting (123) days, maturity (178) days, plant height (94.5 cm), leaf area tiller-1 (97.6 cm2), spike length (10.3 cm) and biological yield (9331 kg ha-1) as compared to Atta Habib. Hence cultivar Siran treated with 120 kg N ha-1 and coated urease inhibitor 100% at sowing stage produced the best results in terms of plant height, leaf area tiller-1, physiological maturity and biological yield. Keywords: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), urease inhibitor application stages, nitrogen levels, wheat cultivars, phenology, morpholog

Assessing Expanding Space Use versus Infill for Economic Activities

In order to limit additional (net) land take for economic activities, the reality of space use needs to be properly understood since the location of economic activities and the patterns of space use vary in different environments. This was assessed by comparing the spatial patterns obtained from a field inventory with those from existing data for 5 case areas in Flanders (Belgium). Each case area is a transect from a high density urban area to a suburban neighbourhood or even a semi-rural zone, in different (types of) regions: inland-coastline transect, transects in the metropolitan areas of the major cities Antwerp and Ghent (exluding the city centres), in the medium sized city of Hasselt (and its suburbs) and th smaller city of Aalst (and the zone along an important access road), and transects incorporating small towns such as Deinze and Veurne . The observations in the field were made from what is visible from the street, thus representing what is normally perceived as economic activity. The statistics are based on official data, mostly derived from tax returns and social security contributions, and on commercial retail data. The location of economic activities and the patterns of space use vary in different settlement environments. The analysis then compared similar settlement environments in different regions, and identified typical characteristics for 8 location environments (with some further subcategories). These were presented to experts in workshops and (group) interviews. This revealed that, in some environments, (the combination of) data and statistics give a good understanding of the space use while, in other environments, gaps with realities in the field are obvious. Therefore, suggestions are made for targeted new data collection methods, such as remote sensing, crowd sourcing, and web data extraction

Microwave Assisted Organic Synthesis (MAOS) - A Comparative Account

The focal point in chemical research now a days is the development of environmentally benign processes. Emphasis is on reduction in the amount of solvents, hazardous substances and more efficient use of energy. Microwave Assisted Organic Synthesis (MAOS) is one of the means to achieve this goal